Dr. Mariana Blagoev aims to bring bright smiles to her community through more than just dental work.

The dentist who serves the Parlin area has started an initiative with her dental practice Bright Smiles Dental called “Everyday Heroes” in which participants can weekly nominate someone they believe to have made a special contribution to the community.

Heroes are to be selected weekly and will receive a $400 gift certificate for dental services at Bright Smiles Dental. Those who submit a winning entry will receive either a free teeth whitening kit or a $25 Visa gift card.

“We like to acknowledge those everyday people that are doing good deeds and remain unacknowledged,” said Blagoev. “There’s just too much negativity out there in everyday life, so we want to focus on the positive and inspire more positive deeds.”

Blagoev, whose practice serves Old Bridge, Sayreville, Madison Park, South Amboy and surrounding areas, said that she also enjoys getting to know her patients and other people.

Last year, Blagoev held a similar “Good Deed” contest, which was specifically to honor and encourage the youth contributing to the community. In addition, Blagoev has organized “Dental Emergency Days” during which she provided free dental care to local residents.

“I just like to see my patients’ happy faces,” she said.

Blagoev has taken to handing out fliers on her event to patients as well as local businesses, detailing how people can visit her website to nominate someone. Feedback on her initiative has been very positive so far, she said.

“First when I started, I was a little shy, but after seeing that nice response from people every place I handed it, I was encouraged,” Blagoev said.

Blagoev said that her first hero will be selected as soon as she has enough entries to pick from. The contest will likely go on for four weeks, she said.